The floods in Pakistan: One year laterSome really heartbreaking scenes. It wasn't that long ago, but it's long-forgotten most everywhere else. Yet the pain appears to remain quite fresh for many, and their suffering is both a humanitarian issue and one with global strategic consequences.

Who wants an emotional robot?Robotics will in many ways be the tools of a future in which a robust labor supply is no longer available (especially as Baby Boomers retire) and in which energy can be produced at low cost. The more energy we have, the more stuff we can produce to solve our problems. But we may actually need robots that show what looks like emotion in order to have them fulfill some of our human needs for which there are not enough capable humans to do the work at an affordable cost.